Quality soldering iron

they all do what you're asking. Just avoid the gimmicks like cold heat & guns. I'd start with a standard 25w iron.

fine to work with, they just need cleaning a bit more often. When they pit, just replace or file them, copper's soft stuff. If you've got a history piece like a Solon, round pin plug pins often fit them, and work ok. Any old copper or brass will do! Old black Solons aren't especially good quality irons, but they still do the job and last almost forever.

Many years ago when I had my 25W Solon I used 3/16" dia brazing rod to make replacement bits. Just cut it at an angle to the required length and pop a tiny hole through for the split pin.

Antex offer the choice of PVC or silicone flex on most of their models. A retailer may not stock both, of course.

In what way? Any bit requires tinning before using.

I'm trying to think of any serious iron with a plain copper bit.

Why would you do such a thing? It should keep up the required temperature for all usual soldering of joints.

It's a great big clumsy thing which may have been ok when first made but has been surpassed by just about every iron made since.

As opposed to simply pulling off an Antex one and pushing on the new? With a vast range of sizes available?

I have a Pace desolder unit for that. ;-)

Copper is a better heat conductor. Easier to cllean in my opinion, doesn't need soggy sponges or tins of abrasive/ flux mixes.

Nothing wrong with copper. Leave your iron coated bit long enough and you will be working with copper anyway.

No! not for dry joint chasing! Time is money. Hence the liking for copper bits also. slightly quicker to tin and conduct the heat.

I would disagree. A temperature controlled Weller was not much different to a 25W Solon, size wise. There were more compact makes BTW. Phillips and the plain Weller were slightly more streamlined and were a 25W copper tipped model.

Simply? :-)

A few strokes of a file was simple. Pretty cheap also, compared to keeping a selection of bits that half the time would be ignored as the chisel bit would "just about" do the job with less hastle than selecting and changing to a more appropriate size.

Really the temp controlled station came into it's own when you needed an iron available all day every day. Apart from this there was no point. /A moron could strip the print and screw up joints just as well with a temperature controlled iron as an uncontrolled device.

They do do them!

Oh dear!

Whack em down on the bench to get the plunger or whatever it was to make.

Happy days :-(

HN

Bits are still copper - but have a coating. And copper bits still need as much cleaning. I suppose you can file them clean with no coating to damage

- but you couldn't do this often with a modern small bit. And of course copper erodes so much faster.

You fit a new one. They're not expensive.

At full heat on my iron, there's a very real chance of wrecking components.

I'm talking about today.

It sounds like you simply don't do any construction or repair work with modern PCBs. A Solon is simply so much worse for this sort of thing as to make it a bad joke. It dates from before the time that PCBs were the norm.

Using maximum heat is a sure way of achieving this. ;-)

I'd suggest you actually try a decent modern iron. One of the Ebay temperature controlled solder stations at about 30 quid would come as a revelation to you.

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MBQ

You couldn't be more wrong if you tried.

MBQ

Very difficult to make good ones.

Not sure how you'd go about it,then plating it with iron and then coating i t to protect it fron the rather agressive Lead free solder flux, but maybe you cna get around that.

me neither just too much hassle with little to gain.

I use

have ten in my lab .

and two of these

with holder the above comes to ~£500 for the set but very good for SMD st uff.

I quite like the brass sponge over they typical water sponge.

it does depend on what you're doing we have a micoscope set up

Mostly used when soldering compents of 2mm or less in size.

and modern Antex PVC is a deeply non pleasing rigid thing... AMHIK!

My 'modern' Antex with the deeply unpleasing un-flex is at least 20 years old.

To be fair, I don't know when the "modern" era came in! I have an old XS25 which I bought from Maplin in around 1980 - and that has a reasonably long and flexible PVC flex, same for a CS15 of similar vintage. My "modern" TCS50 however is altogether far less flexible (even though the "flex" is thinner).

When I find some suitable flex (and the required tuit) I will probably change it.

Have you checked with Antex? Seem to remember silicone flex being available as a spare part. Might be difficult to buy such a small size from a supplier in small quantities.

My first Antex (CN I think) lasted 30 years. I bought its replacement about 15 years ago and opted for the silicone flex. Still use it occasionally, but mainly use a Xytronic Tc one now.

Somewhere in a bucket in the workshop I have the previous Antex, which needs a new element. I'm still inclined to repair that, or simply rob its nice flexible silicone flex, which will be more useful, as I've been meaning to repair it for 20+ years, hence the purchase of its successor.

Mine is the same ... poor cable, but good iron

Go onto Ebay - look at the prices, decide how much you are going to pay, google what might be worth buying to see who stocks spares, and buy. If you are doing anything with pcb's go for a temperature controlled bit so you're looking at £40 - 50 at the lower end of the price range. Just done this and got a Duratool with digital display for £35 +postage - seem to be fine.

Rob